Manufacture of particulate natural cheese without block formation

ABSTRACT

The present invention is directed to a method for making a particulate natural cheese suitable for preparation of processed cheese, as well as for use as a natural cheese, such as a snack food and shreds for cheese toppings. In the method, a milk coagulum is provided. The coagulum is cut to provide particulate cheese curds and whey. The cheese curd is cooked while undergoing agitation. Thereafter, whey is drained from the cheese curd while the cheese curd is continuously agitated. The cheese curd is then cooled or dried sufficiently to maintain the cheese curd as separate particles. Agitation may be used during or immediately after the cooling or drying step to insure separation of the cheese particles. The cheese particles formed may form friable lumps but do not knit during storage. The cheese particles are then packed into relatively large containers holding from about 1,000 to about 2,500 pounds of cheese curd or may be bulk packed in rail cars or trucks. The containers are preferably bulk bags with a liner of plastic or other disposable material. The liners are gas flushed before and during filling to reduce the oxygen content and inhibit mold growth. The liners may be disposed of after use in transporting the cheese curd to a final destination. The bulk bags are reusable with fresh liners. 
     In an alternate embodiment, the cheese curd is drained without agitation to provide a cheese mat. The cheese mat is milled into cheese pieces prior to the cooling step.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No.568,592 filed Dec. 5, 1995.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a method for making a naturalcheese from milk which normally requires a block formation step, butwhich does not include the block formation step. More particularly, thepresent invention is directed to producing natural cheese which is in aparticulate form and has advantages when used as a "cheese formanufacture" in making processed cheese.

The term "cheese for manufacture" is understood in the industry to meana cheese made from milk which may be used as a component in processedcheese products. The natural cheese made in accordance with the presentinvention is particularly useful in a processed cheese process toproduce a non-fat, low-fat or full fat processed cheese.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In one conventional method for the manufacture of cheddar cheese, abatch of milk is placed in a cheese vat and is inoculated with a lacticacid starter. After the desired degree of lactic acid development hasbeen attained, rennet is added to set or coagulate the milk. When theresulting curd has attained the proper degree of firmness, the curd iscut into cubes with curd knives. The curd is then agitated in the wheyand heated to a temperature of about 100° F. to about 105° F., theheating of the curd to the desired temperature, preferably takes placeover a period of about 30 minutes. The curd is held at this temperatureand agitation of the curd is continued until the acidity of the wheyreaches about 0.13 to 0.16, expressed as percent lactic acid or itsequivalent, at which time the heating is terminated and the whey isdrained from the cheese vat. Usually, the temperature is maintained forabout one hour. The mass of curd is then formed or "ditched" tofacilitate whey drainage.

The curd is then allowed to knit and drain after which it is cut intoblocks or slabs which are turned on the bottom of the vat. After aboutone hour, the slabs are stacked, cut and restacked by hand during whichtime the acidity of the curd increases and further amounts of whey areexpelled from the curd. The cutting, turning and stacking of the cheesecurd in the cheese vat is known as "cheddaring". Cheddaring is usuallycontinued for a period of about two hours until the desired knit andsmoothness of curd is achieved. The cheese curd is then milled intosmall pieces which may be washed, after which the curd is salted with anamount of salt to provide a total salt content of from about 1.65 to 1.9percent by weight of the curd. The salted curd is then placed in hoopsand pressed overnight. The pressed curd is then wrapped and cured untilthe curd has knit to form a solid block and desired flavorcharacteristics are attained.

Cheddar cheese has a fat content of at least about 50% on a dry basisand has not more than 39% moisture. After the moisture of the curd hasbeen reduced to less than about 39%, the cheddar curd containing 50%fat, dry basis, does not undergo any further syneresis or expulsion ofwhey.

Many improvements have been directed to the cheddar cheese manufacturingoperation to reduce the time required for draining the whey from thecurd to attain the proper level of moisture. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,969,995,4,049,838 and 4,234,615, all to Krueger, et al. are directed to the useof a drainer blade which is inserted into a mass of cheddar curd. Thedrainer blade is V-shaped and has a number of holes for drainage ofwhey. As reported in the Krueger, et al. patents, the drainage time canbe reduced to as little as 15 minutes after the drainer blades areinserted into the mass of curd and pressure is applied. The '615 Kruegerpatent reports uniform moisture attained in the curd block afterpressing times of about 15 minutes to attain moisture contents in therange of about 37% to 42%. No further draining is required after thepressing step utilizing the drainer blades since no further syneresis ofwhey occurs in the cheddar curd.

In the manufacture of cheddar cheese, it has become standard practice tocure the cheese in the form of 640 lb. blocks. It is not practical touse larger sized blocks, since the amount of time to cool the interiorof the cheese block to the 40° F. temperature used during curing of thecheese block would be too long. It takes up to 5 days to cool theinterior of a 640 lb. block of cheese to 40° F. Another problemassociated with the pressing and curing of large blocks of cheese isthat the stainless steel containers used in the pressing and curingsteps must be cleaned and recycled. A further problem is that the largeblock of cheese must be cut into pieces and comminuted by suitableequipment to provide cheese particles prior to being used in themanufacture of processed cheese.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention toproduce natural cheese suitable for use in manufacturing processedcheese which has a particulate form that is ready to be blended into aprocess cheese manufacturing operation. It is another object of thepresent invention to provide a method for producing a particulatenatural cheese wherein the cheese can be transferred in large quantitieswithout knitting of the individual particles occurring.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flow chart depicting a conventional stirred curd process forproducing cheddar cheese for manufacturing;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the stirred curd process of the presentinvention for producing particulate natural cheese for manufacturing;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram showing the relative times involved in aconventional process for the preparation of cheese for manufacturing;

FIG. 4 is a flow sheet showing relative times for producing theparticulate cheese for manufacturing of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flow sheet depicting a conventional process milled curdprocess for producing cheddar cheese for manufacturing; and

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the milled curd process of the presentinvention for producing particulate natural cheese for manufacturing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a method for making a particulatenatural cheese suitable for preparation of processed cheese, as well asfor use as a natural cheese, such as a snack food and shreds for cheesetoppings. In the method, a milk coagulum is provided. The coagulum iscut to provide particulate cheese curds and whey. The cheese curd iscooked while undergoing agitation. Thereafter, whey is drained from thecheese curd while the cheese curd is continuously agitated. The cheesecurd is then cooled or dried sufficiently to maintain the cheese curd asseparate particles. Agitation may be used during or immediately afterthe cooling or drying step to insure separation of the cheese particles.The cheese particles formed may form friable lumps but do not knitduring storage. The cheese particles are then packed into relativelylarge containers holding from about 1,000 to about 2,500 pounds ofcheese curd or may be bulk packed in rail cars or trucks. The containersare preferably bulk bags with a liner of plastic or other disposablematerial. The liners are gas flushed before and during filling to reducethe oxygen content and inhibit mold growth. The liners may be disposedof after use in transporting the cheese curd to a final destination. Thebulk bags are reusable with fresh liners.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A conventional process for making a cheddar cheese for manufacturing isshown in FIG. 1. In the method, a batch of milk is placed in a cheesevat and is inoculated with a lactic acid starter culture while the milkis at a temperature of about 88° F. The lactic acid starter may be in abulk or direct vat set concentration. Such cultures are well known inthe cheese making art. After the desired degree of lactic aciddevelopment has been attained, rennet is added to set or coagulate themilk. When the resulting curd has attained the proper degree offirmness, the curd is cut into cubes with curd knives. The curd is thenagitated in the whey and heated to a temperature of from about 100° F.to about 105° F. The curd is held at this temperature with agitation ofthe curd continued until the pH of the whey is from about 5.8 to about6.0. At this time, the heating is terminated and the curd and whey aretransferred to a drain table. The temperature of the curd on the draintable is from about 110° F. to about 120° F. After about 25 minutes onthe drain table, the curd is salted and then transferred to barrels. Thecurd is pressed in the barrels for a period of about 2 hours under avacuum of about 28" hg. The moisture after pressing is from about 33 toabout 36%. The curd is stored in the barrels in a cold room maintainedat about 40° F. for a period of from 3 to 5 days to reduce thetemperature in the interior of the barrels to about 40° F. The pH of thecurd after cooling is less than 5.35.

The cooled barrels can then be transferred to a process cheese plant.Alternatively, the curd can be cured in the barrels for a period of fromabout 70 to about 120 days to provide a short hold flavored cheese andfor a period of from about 120 to about 210 days for long hold flavoredcheese.

In use in the process cheese plant, the curd, which has now knitted intoa solid block, is removed from the barrel and is cut into large pieceswhich are ground into a particulate form for use in making the processcheese. The cheese, if the cheese is a cheese for manufacturing, is thenblended with flavored cheeses and is heated to melt the cheese andprovide the process cheese product.

The method of the present invention for providing a particulate cheesecurd for manufacture is shown in FIG. 2. A batch of milk is placed in acheese vat and is inoculated with a lactic acid starter. The lactic acidstarter is used at a level from about 10 lbs. to about 20 lbs. of bulklactic starter culture per 1000 lbs. of milk as compared to theconventional use of from about 10 lbs. to about 15 lbs. After thedesired degree of lactic acid development has been attained, acoagulant, such as rennet, is added to set or coagulate the milk.

When the resulting curd has attained the desired degree of firmness, thecurd is cut into pieces with curd knives. The pieces have a square,rectangular or irregular shape with the maximum dimension being about 2inches and the minimum dimension being about 1/16 inch. The size of thepieces is dependent on the intended final use; larger sizes are used forconsumption as is, while smaller sizes are used in the manufacture ofprocess cheese. The curd is agitated in the whey and heated to atemperature of from about 100° F. to about 105° F. in 30 minutes withagitation. After cooking for 15 minutes, the agitation is increased. Thevats are held at the elevated temperature until the pH drops to 5.7-5.8.After completion of 30 minutes of cooking, a pre-draw step can beperformed, removing up to 80% of the whey. The curd is then pumped tothe drain table while at a temperature of about 105° F. After theinitial whey is drained of, a pre-salting at 0.2 to 1.0 pounds of saltper 100 pounds of curd can be performed, if desired. The curd is drainedwith agitation until a pH of from about 4.8 to about 5.3 is attained.Salt is then added to the curd on the drain table to reach a final saltlevel of 1.9% by weight, based on the weight of the curd. Allpercentages used herein are by weight unless otherwise indicated.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the curd is pressed in 40 poundbatches for a period of from about 1 to 5 minutes at 1 to 10 psi with novacuum. The 40 pound blocks are then placed into a suitable vessel, suchas a V-Blender while at a temperature of from about 85° F. to about 95°F. The curd has not had time to establish any knitting and is at asufficiently low pH that it is easily fragmented into curd particles inthe blender. While in the blender, a cooling medium, such as cryogenicliquid nitrogen, is passed through the curd to cool the curd particlesin a period of less than about 30 minutes to an internal curd particletemperature of from about 40° F. to about 50° F.

The rapid cooling of the curd particles in combination with the low pHand moisture level establishes a hardening effect on the surface of thecurd particles which inhibits and prevents curd knitting upon subsequenthandling. The curd particles can then be packed into large containersfor immediate transfer to a final destination, such as a process cheeseplant. Preferred containers are heavy duty reinforced woven plasticcontainers which have a rectangular shape and which can contain fromabout 1000 lbs. to about 2500 lbs. of curd. These containers are knownin industry by the term bulk bags. The container size is about 3 feet×3feet×5 feet. The containers are flushed with an inert gas, such asnitrogen and carbon dioxide before and during filling to lower theoxygen level in the container to less than about 2%, i.e., 10% air. Thisprevents any mold growth from occurring.

While the curd at the bottom of the container is subjected tosubstantial pressure, no knitting of the curd particles occurs. Thelarge bags of curd can be stacked at least two high without establishingany substantial level of knitting of the curd by the pressure of thestacked bags of curd. Even when the curd particles are cured for aperiod of from about 10 to about 210 days to develop flavor, nosubstantial knitting occurs.

When used at the process cheese plant, the curd particles are merelyunloaded from the large containers and transferred to blending equipmentfor manufacture of the process cheese. While not necessary, grinding ofthe curd particles may be performed.

In an alternative embodiment, a particulate curd is provided without apressing step. In this embodiment, a two-step cooking process is usedand two types of lactic producing cultures are used. The first type is amesophilic lactic culture, such as S. Lactis, which is effective attemperatures up to about 105° F. and a thermophilic lactic culture, suchas S. Thermophilus, which is effective to a temperature of up to about120° F. In this embodiment, the combination of the mesophilic lacticculture and the thermophilic lactic culture are again used at combinedlevels higher than is used in the conventional manufacture of cheddarcheese. The mesophilic bulk lactic culture is used at a level of fromabout 3 lbs. to about 10 lbs. per 1000 lbs. of milk and a thermophilicbulk culture is used at a level of from about 3 to about 10 lbs. per1000 lbs. of milk. The rennet level, double strength, is from about 25mls. to about 100 mls. per 1000 lbs. of milk.

In this embodiment, the milk is added to the vat and the culture isadded while the milk is at a temperature of about 90° F. After ripeningfor 1 hour, the rennet, diluted with distilled water, is added to thevat and the mixture is held for about 30 minutes. The coagulum is thencut to 1/4 inch sized pieces. Mixers are started to agitate the curd.Cooking is started about 15 minutes after the start of the cut. The curdis cooked from a temperature of 90° F. to a temperature of from about100° F. to about 105° F. in about 30 minutes. After cooking for 15minutes, the agitation level is increased. The curd is held at theelevated temperature and from about 20% to about 80% of the whey ispredrawn.

The curd is then subjected to a second cooking step in the reduced levelof whey. In the second cooking step, the temperature of the curd israised from the 100° F. to 105° F. range to a temperature in the rangeof from about 115° F. to about 120° F. over a period of 15 to 30minutes. The use of the second higher temperature cooking stepeliminates the need for a subsequent pressing step. The curd is thencooled in the vat from a temperature of from about 118° F. to about 104°F. over a period of about 15 minutes. The curd is held in the vats at atemperature in the range of from about 100° F. to about 105° F. whilemixing until the pH drops to a level of from about 5.6 to about 5.9. Thecurd is then pumped to the drain table while at a temperature in therange of from about 100° F. to about 105° F. Pre-salting may be effectedat this time, if desired. The curd is drained and stirred on the draintable until the pH is from about 4.8 to about 5.3. This is a pH levelthat is usually attained only during curing of large blocks of cheese inthe conventional make procedure. In the method of the invention, the pHis reduced up front and is not further reduced during subsequent steps.Additional salt is then added on the drain table to reach a level of1.9%.

The curd from the drain table is then transferred to a suitable vessel,such as a V-Blender while at a temperature of from about 85° F. to about95° F. A cryogenic liquid, such as liquid nitrogen is then passedthrough the blender and the curd is cooled to an internal temperature offrom about 40° F. to about 50° F. over a period of less than about 30minutes.

The milk used in the method of the present invention can be full-fatmilk, reduced fat milk or skim milk, i.e., the milk can have a fatcontent of from about 0% to about 4%.

The curd particles are then loaded into large containers as previouslydescribed.

The various times involved in the make procedure of a conventionalprocess for making cheese for manufacture and the process of theinvention for making cheese for manufacture is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.As can be seen, the present invention can provide curd particles for usein the manufacture of process cheese on the same day that the process isstarted. In a conventional process for making cheese for manufacture,the total time is from approximately 3 to 5 days.

The process described thus far for providing particulate natural cheesefor use in the preparation of process cheese has utilized variations ofa stirred curd process wherein curd particles are agitated while whey isdrained from the curd. A variation of a milled curd process may also beused to provide particulate natural cheese.

A conventional milled curd process for manufacture of natural cheese isshown in FIG. 5. In the milled curd process, the curd particles, aftercutting the coagulum, are drained on a matting conveyor where a curdslab is produced. The curd slab exits from the conveyor at a temperatureof from about 90° F. to about 95° F. The curd slab is cut into oblongpieces which are then milled into curd size pieces having a rectangularshape of from about 4 inch by 1 inch by 1/2 inch. The curd particles arethen salted and loaded into a barrel. The curd particles are pressed inthe barrel while at a temperature of from about 85° F. to about 90° F.After pressing, the curd block is cooled to a temperature of from about38° F. to about 45° F. over a period of from about 2 to about 4 days.

In the method of the present invention, the milled curd particles areground to provide curd pieces having a size of from about 3/8 to about3/4 inches. The curd pieces are then rapidly cooled from a temperaturein the range of from about 85° F. to about 90° F. to a temperature inthe range of from about 45° F. to about 50° F. over a period of time offrom about 10 minutes to about 30 minutes by us of a cryogenic fluid.One optional pressing and drying step may also be used as previouslydescribed.

The particulate natural cheese curd of the invention is, as describedherein, of particular value, as a cheese for manufacture. However, thenatural cheese particulate has other uses, for example as a snack food,or shredded cheese product, as well. Because the particulate naturalcheese requires no grinding, as in the case of a conventional cheeseblock, the particulate cheese curd may, if desired, be packaged directlyand marketed in such form of use by consumers. In this connection, theparticulate cheese curd may be cured for a period of from about 10 toabout 210 days prior to distribution or use in making process cheese.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the particulate naturalcheese curd of the invention may be treated with enzymes ormicroorganisms which produce enzymes to develop cheese flavors. Theenzymes are selected from lipases, proteases, amino-peptidases andaccelases. Preferably, a mixture of a protease, a lipase and anamino-peptidase are used. The enzyme treatment of the particulate curdtakes place by means of a slurry reaction. Application of dried enzymesto the particulate curd results in breakdown of the particulate curd toa liquid. Alternatively, the particulate curd may be mixed with water toprovide a slurry to which the enzyme is added. If used, the water isadded to the particulate curd at a level of from about 40% to about 75%by weight, based on the weight of the curd. The enzyme is used at alevel of from about 0.3 grams to about 3 grams of dry enzyme per 1000grams of particulate curd. After the enzyme is added to the particulatecurd, the curd is incubated at a temperature of from about 70° C. toabout 90° F. for a period of from about 3 days to about 14 days. Theenzyme treated particulate curd is then combined with fresh, blandparticulate curd in the process cheese cooker. The enzyme treated curdis present in the combination of bland curd and enzyme treated curd at alevel of from about 2% to about 30% by weight.

While the present invention for providing curd particles has beenillustrated by describing a cooling process for establishing a curdparticle resistant to knitting, a drying step can also be used toestablish a curd particle resistant to knitting. A drying step may alsobe required if the moisture of the particulate cheese curd is too high.A moisture level of from about 33% to about 36% for full-fat cheese isdesirable. Non-fat and low-fat cheeses have a higher moisture of up to40%. The moisture level after draining may sometimes be at a level offrom about 37% to about 39%. In this embodiment, the curd particles fromthe drain table are transferred to a drying bed, where air or other gasis passed over the curd particles to dry the surface of the curdparticles. Other methods for drying the curd particles which may beemployed are centrifugation and vacuum evaporation. Evaporation undervacuum has the additional advantage of cooling the curd particleswithout solids loss. The cooling obtained under vacuum evaporation maybe sufficient to obviate any further cooling step.

For vacuum cooling, the curd particles are conveyed to a batch chiller.The conveyor can be a belt, screw or pneumatic system. The cheese isparticulate and is at a temperature of approximately 90° F. The batchchiller is a rotating vacuum vessel with internal fixed flights.Rotating the batch chiller from 5-20 rpm produces a gentle tumblingaction that exposes the curd to the vacuum. A vacuum of from about 5.17to about 7.63 Torr is pulled. This level of vacuum corresponds to anequilibrium vapor pressure of 35° F. to 45° F. The vacuum causes boilingof the moisture in the curd and cooling the curd to the equilibriumtemperatures in approximately 15-20 minutes.

The following examples further illustrate various features of theinvention, but are intended to in no way limit the scope of theinvention as set forth in the appended claims.

EXAMPLE 1

A full fat cheddar cheese curd was produced using an optional pressingstep to provide curd particles for use in the manufacture of processcheese. Two batches of cheese were produced. The batches had thefollowing composition at the indicated levels.

    ______________________________________                                        Raw Material    Vat A           Vat B                                         ______________________________________                                        Milk            1000   lbs.     1000 lbs.                                     Mesophilic lactic                                                                             17.5   lbs.     17.5 lbs.                                     Culture                                                                       Chymax 2x (Rennet)                                                                            50     mls.     50   mls.                                     Salt            2      lbs.     2    lbs.                                     ______________________________________                                    

The milk was placed into vats A and B and was mixed at 8 rpm. Theculture was added to the vats and ripening proceeding at 8 rpm for 1hour. After ripening 1 hour, the Chymax 2X diluted with 2.0 kg distilledwater was added to the vats and mixed for 1 minute. The milk was thenheld without agitation for 30 minutes to provide a coagulum. The curdwas cut by hand with 1/4 inch spaced piano wires. The mixers werestarted after 10 minutes from start of cut at 8 rpm. Cooking was started15 minutes after the start of cut. Both vats were cooked from 88° F. to102° F. in 30 minutes. The vats were held at 102° F.

After cooking for 15 minutes, the agitation was increased to 10 rpm. Thevats were held at 102° F. while mixing at 10 rpm. until the pH droppedto 5.7-5.8. The curd and whey were then pumped to the drain table. Thecurd was drained and stirred until the pH of the curd was 5.15. The saltwas then added to each batch on the drain table. Both batches were thenpressed in five 40 lb. blocks for 5 minutes at 280 lbs. total weight(1.8 psi). 21/2 blocks of the pressed cheese (100 pounds) were thenplaced in a V-Blender and mixed for 1 minute to break up clumps.

Liquid nitrogen was then passed through the V-Blender for 10 minutesuntil the internal curd temperature of the curd particles reached 40° F.The curd was then packed into containers and stored at 45° F. After aperiod of 6 weeks, no appreciable curd knitting had occurred.

EXAMPLE 2

The method of the present invention was used to produce a full fatcheddar cheese curd without the use of a pressing step. Two batches ofcurd were produced having the following composition:

    ______________________________________                                        Raw Material    Vat C           Vat D                                         ______________________________________                                        Milk            1000   lbs.     1000 lbs.                                     Mesophilic lactic                                                                             9.0    lbs.     7.0  lbs.                                     culture                                                                       Thermophilic    9.0    lbs.     7.0  lbs.                                     culture                                                                       Chymax 2X (rennet)                                                                            50     mls.     50   mls.                                     Salt            2      lbs.     2    lbs.                                     ______________________________________                                    

The milk was placed in the 2 vats and was heated to 90° F. while mixingat 8 rpm. The culture was added to the vats and ripening proceeded at 8rpm. for one hour. After ripening for one hour, the Chymax 2X (dilutedwith 2.0 kg distilled water), was added to the vats and mixed for oneminute. The milk was then held without mixing in the vats for 30minutes. The curd was cut by hand with 1/4 inch spaced piano wires.

The mixers were started 10 minutes from the start of cutting at a speedof 8 rpm. Cooking was started 15 minutes after the start of cutting. Thecurd was cooked in the vats from a temperature of 90° F. to 104° F. in30 minutes. After cooking for 15 minutes, mixing agitation was increasedto 10 rpm. The vats were held at 104° F. and 50% of the whey waspredrawn.

The curd in the reduced level of whey was then cooked from a temperatureof 104° F. to a temperature of 118° F. in 30 minutes. The curd was thencooled from 118° F. to 104° F. in 15 minutes. The curd was held at 104°F. while mixing at 10 rpm. until the pH dropped to 5.7-5.8. The curd andreduced level of whey was then pumped to the drain table. The curd wasdrained while being stirred until the pH reached 5.15. The salt was thenadded to the curd on the drain table.

The curd from the drain table in particulate form was transferred to aV-Blender. The curd was cooled with liquid nitrogen for 10 minutes untilthe internal curd temperature reached 40° F. The curd from both vats wasstored at 45° F. for a period of 2 days under a simulated rail car load.The curd formed small friable clumps, but no substantial knitting of thecurd particles was observed.

EXAMPLE 3

Four separate batches of the following mixture were made in a foodprocessor (cuisinart) at room temperature.

    ______________________________________                                        Ingredients        Grams                                                      ______________________________________                                        Particulate natural cheese curd                                                                  457.5                                                      NaCl               13.5                                                       Disodium phosphate 7.5                                                        Water              271.5                                                      Enzyme             see below                                                  ______________________________________                                        Enzyme                                                                               Batch A - 0.75 g. KRD "Ingredient C" enzyme mix                        (Quest) - protease & lipase                                                          Batch B - Lactobacillus helveticus CNRZ 303                            spray dried powder (Medipharm) 3.75 gram                                             Batch C - IBT Accelase AHC50, 0.3 g. +                                 Debitrase 0.225 g.                                                                   Batch D - Lactobacillus helveticus, as B, but                          1.0 gm.                                                                       ______________________________________                                    

Aliquots of the four mixtures were incubated at 72° F. and 86° F. for 4and 10 days. All of the incubated mixtures developed desirable cheesycheddary buttery taste and aroma to different extents or intensities.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for making a particulate natural cheesesuitable for preparation of process cheese comprising, providing acoagulum from milk by fermenting said milk with a lactic acid starterculture to provide a fermented milk and adding a milk coagulating enzymeto said fermented milk, cutting said coagulum to provide cheese curdsand whey, heating said curds and whey, draining said whey from saidcheese curds without agitating said curds to provide a curd mat, millingsaid curd mat to provide curd pieces and cooling said curd pieces from atemperature of from about 85° F. to about 95° F. to a temperature offrom about 40° F. to about 50° F. in less than about 30 minutes so as tomaintain said curd pieces as separate particles which do not knit duringstorage.
 2. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein said milk has afat content of from about 0% to about 4%.
 3. A method in accordance withclaim 1 wherein said curd particles are loaded into bulk containers fortransport after said cooling step.
 4. A method in accordance with claim3, wherein said bulk container is a rail car.
 5. A method in accordancewith claim 3 wherein said bulk container is a truck.
 6. A method inaccordance with claim 3 wherein said bulk container is a bulk bag.
 7. Amethod in accordance with claim 1 wherein the curd pieces are agitatedduring cooling.
 8. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the curdsare pressed prior to cooling.
 9. A method in accordance with claim 1wherein the pH of said curd at the time of cooling is from about 4.8 toabout 5.3.
 10. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein said cheesecurd particles are cured for a period of from about 10 days to about 210days.
 11. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein a mixture of amesophilic lactic starter culture and a thermophilic lactic starterculture are used and said curd is cooked in said whey in two stages, thefirst cooking stage being at a temperature of from about 100° F. toabout 105° F. and the second cooking stage being at a temperature offrom about 115° F. to about 120° F.
 12. A method in accordance withclaim 11 wherein said lactic acid starter culture is a bulk starterculture which is used at a level of from about 10 to about 20 pounds per1000 pounds of milk.
 13. A method in accordance with claim 11 whereinsaid curd particles are subjected to a drying step concurrently with orprior to said cooling.
 14. A method in accordance with claim 13 whereinsaid drying and cooling is effected by vacuum evaporation.
 15. A methodin accordance with claim 1 wherein said particulate cheese is enzymetreated prior to being used in the preparation of process cheese.